This invention relates to a method for use in surgery to facilitate the performance of surgical operations. This invention also related to an associated apparatus or system for use in the operating room to assist in the performance of surgical operations.
It is occasionally difficult in surgery, particularly laparoscopic surgery, to identify a patient's organs on a video screen. Sometimes, the organs are of unusual sizes and shapes which inhibits easy and quick identification.
In addition, accidents occasionally occur during operations which should be detected early to enable timely corrective measures. For example, during removal of the gall bladder in a laparoscopic operation, the gall bladder is grabbed with a laparoscopic grasping forceps to shift the organ in preparation for removal. Sometimes, the bladder is perforated by the grasping forceps, particularly when the bladder has thin walls. Bile then leaks from the perforated bladder into the abdominal cavity. If the perforation is detected early, it can be closed before the bladder empties of its charge of bile.
In another operative scenario, an intestine is nicked and the mucosal lining starts bubbling through the muscular wall of the intestine through the perforation. The perforation should be repaired as soon as possible to prevent faeces from leaking into the abdominal cavity.
In any case, the operating surgeon and his or her assistants are frequently too busy to quickly detect a perforation or other structural abnormality during the course of an operation.